Reunion
by ohlookrandom
Summary: "Just this one time," Thresh says, his eyes tearing up when he remembers the little girl he treated as a sister, "I let you go." He remembers Rue's smile. "For the little girl."
1. Chapter 1

So.. I'm just browsing through pictures of the cast during the premiere of the _Hunger Games_, and I come across this picture of Amandla and Dayo hugging each other on the red carpet. A gif, more accurately, of Amandla attacking Dayo with a giant hug. It was adorable, and I really wanted to flesh out the relationship between their characters in the book. Rue and Thresh never got a scene together- the only thing we ever really got was Thresh's fury at Clove when she said she killed Rue. So here's my attempt at painting what I thought their friendship might have been like, pre Games, during the Games, and also maybe post-Games.

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

* * *

><p>The sun is low in the sky, casting orange and red rays across the green orchards of District 11. Thresh glances at the sky, squinting as its light assaults his eyes and blinds him temporarily to the world around him. "What time is it?" he asks his brother, who is beside him picking oranges.<p>

"Hell if I know," his brother replies grumpily and moves off.

Thresh scowls at his brother's retreating back. He is only fourteen, but he already knows that he will have to take over the orchard picking business that his father semi-owns if his brother keeps up the surly act. Thresh picks an orange from the tree above him, standing on his toes to reach it. He is only five foot four at the age of fourteen, and can just _barely _reach the low hanging orange trees that grow in District 11.

A sing-song voice interrupts his thoughts. "It's five fifteen."

Thresh looks up to find a small girl sitting in a tall tree, swinging a leg back and forth as she perches precariously on the tree branch. "Come again?"

"You wanted to know what time it was," the girl answers serenely. She tosses him an orange that he deftly catches. "It's five fifteen. Sixteen now, I suppose."

"And how do you know that?" Thresh goes back to reaching for another orange.

"I can see the clock in the square from here." The girl swings to the next branch, following Thresh as he moves along the line of trees. "I'm Rue. What's your name?"

"Thresh," he says shortly.

"What a nice name," she says brightly, and Thresh can't help but bark sardonically at that one. "How old are you, Thresh?"

"Fourteen." He glances at her out of the corner of her eye. She can't be more than ten, he decides. "And you?"

"Eight." She shrugs. "I know I look smaller though."

"Small isn't bad."

"I know," she says sadly, "but I wish I were bigger sometimes. People ignore me too much."

Thresh considers this statement for a bit. "I won't ignore you," he finally offers.

She immediately brightens at this statement. "Really?"

Even at fourteen years old, Thresh can hear the hopefulness in her voice. With all the wisdom and gravity that few fourteen year olds possess, he answers honestly, "Really."

..

There it is. The four note melody that Rue whistles at the end of the day. Thresh wipes his brow and scowls at the amount of sweat that comes with it. He _hates _harvesting in summer, because it's humid and sticky and the oranges never stay in his gloved hands because they're so wet. "You coming?" he calls irritably to his brother, but his scowl deepens even further when he notices that his brother has already gone off without him.

"Don't scowl so much, Thresh, you're already looking old," a familiar voice says, and Thresh turns to see Rue hanging upside down from a sturdy tree branch. She folds her arms, all the while looking like a bat. "Smile, Thresh. It's the end of another day!"

"Oh yes," Thresh says sarcastically. "Wonderful. We should all celebrate."

"We should!" Thresh notices with a mixture of amusement and resignation that Rue hasn't changed in three years because she's still as perky and bright as ever. "Why don't we just go back home? I hear your grandmother is making orange pie."

"Whatever for?" Thresh wants to know.

"She's _your _grandmother," Rue answers simply, "shouldn't you know?" She flashes him a grin as she begins to untangle herself. "Isn't it your birthday?"

Of course. Thresh wants to smack himself. "It's my birthday," he says aloud.

"Fancy forgetting your own birthday," Rue scoffs teasingly as she works on getting her right leg unhooked from the tree branch.

"Because it's so much more worth remembering," Thresh mutters. "Another year of not getting reaped by the Capitol. Fancy that, Rue. The odds have been in my favor-"

His next words are cut off because Rue's foot suddenly comes loose from the tree branch and she tumbles three feet to the ground headfirst, screaming as she plummets. Thresh drops his bucket and rushes over immediately, bellowing for help as he reaches Rue's side. "Rue!" he yells, skidding to a stop next to the little girl's side. "Rue, are you okay? Are you hurt?"

It takes the tiny little girl a moment, but she finally answers in a winded tone, "Yeah, I'm fine." She tries to sit up, eyes watering all the way, but cannot as she flops back down, her arm twisted at an awkward angle. "My arm-"

"It looks broken," Thresh says unhelpfully. He glances around- no one has heard his yells for help, so he sighs. "Rue, I'm going to get you to my grandmother. She knows how to patch up broken bones. I'm going to pick you up, but it's going to hurt, okay?"

She puts on the bravest face he's ever seen her do. "Okay."

She doesn't even scream, not when Thresh, in all his awkward seventeen year old movements, accidentally jostles her broken arm while he's cradling her against his big chest. He's left marveling at this little girl, who doesn't seem to know the meaning of pain.

..

"What'd I miss?"

Thresh scoffs. "Nothing." He sits next to Rue, her bed still littered with flowers from all the visitors earlier. "Just another Capitol victor who thinks he's better than all of us."

"Isn't he though?" Rue's eyes are wide.

"Just because he killed 23 other people?" Thresh shakes his head. "No, Rue. That doesn't make him better than us."

She is silent for a while, playing with the daisies that Thresh hands her. "Why do we have the Games?" she asks at last. "I mean, I _know _why we have the Games- I study it in school- but why do we still have them? Haven't we been punished enough?"

Thresh isn't quite sure how to answer that deep question from such a small, innocent little girl. "I guess not," he finally croaks.

Rue is silent again before she speaks next. "Do you remember Millie Wheatstone?"

Thresh's mouth quirks sadly. "Yeah."

Rue looks at her hands. "She used to help me in math in school."

There is a silence before Rue whispers into the room, "I miss her, Thresh."

He takes Rue's tiny hand in his and holds it tight. "We all do."

She squeezes back. "What happens if that's us next year?"

He feels a chill run down his back at the thought of innocent Rue getting speared to death like Millie. He can't imagine Rue having to survive against 23 other bloodthirsty tributes in that horrible Arena, where she has to think of herself to survive. Rue has never really been very good at taking care of herself- it has always been her family first above everything that she does- how on earth is she going to survive out there?

Thresh puts the thought out of his mind as he squeezes her hand comfortingly, like the big brother she once told him that she wished she had. "It won't be," he says as convincingly as he can- which isn't saying much, because he never really knows how these reapings work.

But Rue isn't done with the topic. "My family, Thresh. What happens if I die?"

"You won't die," Thresh says.

"But what if I do?"

"You're only twelve, Rue," Thresh says patiently. "Your name is in there how many times? Ten?"

"Six when the next Reaping comes," Rue says inaudibly.

Thresh nods. "Worse odds have happened." He sees Rue's expression tense, and he sighs and lets go of her hand. "How's that arm?"

"Better."

"I thought so." Thresh gets up to leave. "I'll see you tomorrow, Rue."

"Bye, Thresh." She seems so small, Thresh reflects, so small and vulnerable.

So he turns back impulsively on the way out. "Hey, Rue?"

She looks up from the daisies that lie on her lap. "Yeah?"

"If you get reaped," Thresh says, "I'll volunteer with you. So I can protect you. Okay?"

She laughs, and somehow that bright sound dispels the gravity of their conversation. "Okay, Thresh. But I won't get reaped. And neither will you!"

"That's the Rue I know," Thresh smiles.

..

The day of the Reaping comes a few months later, a cloudy day that begins to drizzle as the families all wake up. Thresh wakes to the sound of someone knocking shyly on the door. He hears his grandmother shuffle across their wooden floor and then the door creaks open, letting in a cool draft of air that ruffles the short hairs on the nape of his neck. Thresh pulls his legs out of bed, regretting it the moment his bare feet hit the cold wooden floor.

Someone knocks on his door, and Thresh sighs as he walks over to it and pulls it open. "Good morning, Rue."

He is alarmed to see that her eyes are red and puffy. "What's wrong?"

She begins to cry again. "I-I couldn't sleep last night."

"Because of the Reaping?" Thresh hates the word as it slides across his tongue.

She nods and Thresh sighs. "Come with me," he says, leading her to the kitchen. He begins to heat up the little water his family has in the kettle. "Don't fret about it, Rue."

"I'm not."

"Oh?" Thresh raises an eyebrow.

She takes the offered cup and takes a long, shaky drink from it. "No one will volunteer if I am called."

"Your name is only in there six times…"

"Millie's name was in there fifteen!"

"_Fifteen, _Rue. You have nine less than that. You will not be called." Thresh swallows his drink. "My name is in there at least a good thirty times. If anyone will be called, it'll be me…"

"How do you handle watching your friends die?" Rue asks.

Thresh considers the question. "I try not to think about it. It's easier to say that I like being alone." He shrugs his big shoulders. "It's easy for me to do. I don't really have much friends."

"I'm your friend," Rue offers.

Thresh laughs quietly. "That you are, Rue. That you are."

They spend the morning before the Reaping sipping their water in silence, the giant and the girl trying to relish the moments before their lives change forever.

* * *

><p>What do you think? Feel free to review :)<p> 


	2. Chapter 2

For Thresh, the world goes dark for a few moments when Rue's name is called. He can only watch in abject horror as she stands rooted to the ground, her fingers fluttering in empty space as she hovers, unsure whether to go or to flee. It is only when the Peacekeepers jab her with the butt of their rifles that she stumbles forward, life seeping back into her tiny legs.

Thresh moves forward, but someone holds him back- a burly boy that he recognizes from his stint in the fields. "Don't," he hisses. "Don't make a scene."

Thresh doesn't know the boy's name, but he eyes him with such silent power that the boy's arm drops and he steps back. "Fine. Go ahead. Get shot. See if I care."

The audience is rumbling, a murmur of dissent that sweeps through like wildfire. And through all of this, Rue is still stumbling towards the stage, her legs giving out halfway as fear paralyzes her. Still, nobody responds. Nobody volunteers to save this little girl from certain death in the arena. Thresh glances to the side and sees Rue's parents, frozen with fear as they watch their little girl move away from them forever. Rue's younger siblings are not here, Thresh notes with relief; they must be home with his grandmother.

"Hello, sweetie," their Capitol escort drawls as he holds out a hand to Rue to help her on stage. "How old are you?"

Rue can't even speak. Her mouth moves but no words come out.

The escort waits a few beats before growing impatient. "Well, well, might as well get moving with today's festivities! Now for the boys!"

Thresh stops moving when the escort's hand fishes around the bowl. He watches with dread as the escort's fingers close around a slip of paper and then retreats from the glass bowl. In a moment, he's forgotten about Rue and is reduced to praying that it's not him. It's not him. It's not him.

And yet, when the escort's lips part and he announces Thresh's name, he can feel nothing but relief that he gets to be with Rue in her time of fear. Not horror, not anger, not sadness. He begins to stalk towards the stage, feeling the power ripple through his veins and muscles as everyone hastily makes way for him to walk through. He doesn't look at anyone's face, doesn't dare to look at his classmates and fellow orange-pickers as he begins his walk towards certain death. Instead, he focuses on the small little girl on stage.

Rue looks terrified at the thought of having to kill him to survive, and Thresh's heart throbs painfully. He wishes she could escape this, that someone else would volunteer to take her place. And then he scoffs internally, because it wouldn't be any easier to kill someone from his own district. Rue is just harder because she is his friend.

"And there you have it," their escort is drawling lazily into the microphone. "Shake, you two!"

Rue turns to Thresh, her eyes downcast. Thresh doesn't say anything, but only grips Rue's hand and squeezes it reassuringly, as though to say, _I won't let anything bad happen to you_.

She does not squeeze back.

..

Rue doesn't even cry on the way there.

Thresh half expects her to be on the floor, bawling her eyes out after she's said her goodbyes to her parents. But instead, she's resolute, staring out the window with no trace of tears on her cheek. Sitting in the setting sun, she seems like a tiny warrior already, determined to face her fate no matter what, and if Thresh was from any other district he might even be intimidated by the strength of her character.

He finally breaks the silence. "Maybe we should go for dinner."

"I'm not hungry," she says quietly.

"Rue, you have to eat something." He walks over. "Come on."

"I'm not hungry."

He sits down opposite her. "Are you still worried?"

She looks him straight in the eye. "Yes."

He gives a short bark of dry laughter. "You never lie to me, Rue." He leans forward, his elbows on his knees so he's eye to eye with her. "Why are you worried?"

Rue looks at her hands, so small compared to the giant sitting opposite her. "I'm afraid that we're going to die," she says in a small voice. "Or that I'll have to kill you, or that you'll have to kill me."

"That's not going to happen," Thresh reassures her gently.

"You said that this morning, when you told me I wasn't going to get reaped," Rue says lightly.

There is an awkward pause as Thresh fumbles with his words and thoughts, unsure of how to handle the indirect accusation that is thrown at him. Rue, in the meantime, merely stares out the window as she watches the landscape flash past. "What do you think the other tributes are like?" she asks at last.

"Does it matter?" Thresh asks.

Rue shrugs. "Maybe." She uncurls herself from her seat and hops to the floor. "Come on! I saw a television set somewhere here. Maybe they're showing a recap."

They do find the television set (and their escort snoring lightly on the couch) and sure enough, the recaps of all the tribute reapings are being shown. District 1 and 2, as always, have volunteers galore and Thresh wrinkles his nose. "I don't like them," he says under his breath as he watches the confident tributes mount the stage.

Rue catches his comment, of course. "You know they're going to pick you, right?" she says matter-of-factly.

The giant looks at her. "What do you mean?"

Rue points at the screen, where the District 2 tributes are waving wildly at the crowd. "District 1 and 2. The Careers. They're going to pick you to join the alliance."

Thresh snorts. "Yeah, right."

"No, I'm serious," Rue insists, her curls bouncing wildly around her head. "You're big and strong. They'll want you."

"Well, I don't want them," Thresh says decisively. He crosses his arms as the recaps switch to District 3 and 4, spending markedly less time on them than the dramatic Districts 1 and 2. "They're self-confident, arrogant brats who think this is _fun_."

"You'll stay alive longer," Rue points out.

Thresh sighs as the screen flips to Districts 5, 6 and 7, where boys and girls meekly take the stage. "It won't matter, Rue. I don't particularly care about any particular alliance. I just need to make sure you'll be okay."

There is a silence in the car again as the screen blathers on about Districts 8, 9 and 10. Rue breaks it again, as usual. "Thresh, I'm going to get killed."

"No, you won't," Thresh says quietly.

"I will!" Rue's voice grows louder. "I can climb trees- that's about it!"

"You'll survive if they can't catch you," Thresh points out. "You're small. And fast. If they can't catch you, they can't kill you."

Rue considers this point. "But what about you?" she asks in a small voice.

"I'm big and strong. You said so yourself." Thresh folds his arms, his muscles bulging under his sleeves. "Rue, I promised that I'd protect you. So I'll protect you as long as I can."

They ignore the unspoken _but we still won't win_, and instead lapse back into silence as they watch their own reaping and then they observe the frantic brunette volunteer from District 12 and the quiet, blonde baker boy.

"I like her," Rue says, pointing at the screen.

Thresh only shrugs. He doesn't trust anyone in this arena. Except Rue.

..

The night before the Games, Thresh knocks on Rue's door. "I got you something," he says quietly when she opens it, still not dressed in her pajamas. He hands her a woven necklace. "It was my grandmother's. She gave it to me as a token, but I think you should have it." He scratches his neck awkwardly. "Feels weird wearing a necklace."

She takes it, awe written on her face. "It's beautiful!" She fingers the intricately woven strands, but then thrusts it back at the bigger boy. "I'm afraid I'll break it, Thresh."

He pushes it back to her. "I want you to take it back to 11 for me."

"We'll both go back to 11," Rue insists.

Thresh only looks at her with an _are you crazy? _look. "Listen, Rue," he says instead. "Tomorrow during the Games, we need to stick together. The minute the gong rings, grab a pack as fast as you can and then run. You remember that 4 note melody you used to whistle at home?"

"I invented that melody," she says indignantly.

Thresh can't help but smile at her indignation. "Yes, of course you did. I hear that there are going to be mockingjays in the arena. Whistle your melody if we get lost. I'll whistle back."

She hesitates. "You'll be with me?"

"As best as I can," Thresh reassures her. He bends down so that he's eye to eye with her. "You're my only friend, remember?"

It takes her a moment, but a smile blossoms across her innocent face. "I remember." She gives him a hug.

"Goodnight, Rue," he says when he stands back up.

He tries not to think that that may be the last goodnight he ever exchanges with his only friend.

..

The first afternoon, Rue and Thresh manage to stay together and avoid the bloodbath at the Cornucopia. Thresh is sporting a slight cut on his cheek thanks to an accidental swipe from District 7's knife, but he knocks the boy out before sprinting after Rue full tilt into the forest, away from the Careers and the carnage.

He sees the boy's face in the sky that night, but he tries not to dwell on the fact he most likely condemned the kid to death. The first night, they don't even light a fire, for fear that the Careers will find them and slaughter them in their sleep.

Rue huddles against Thresh as he absently breaks off pieces of jerky. "So what do we do now?" she whispers.

"Survive," is his short answer.

"We can't stay here forever," Rue whispers back.

Thresh considers this, weighing his options. "We'll move soon," he tells her quietly. He hands her a piece of jerky. "I'll keep first watch."

It is nerve wracking, sitting in the field with only the wind whispering through the trees and bushes. Thresh keeps his hand on his knife, nerves on edge with every rustle and sniff from an animal or a sudden breeze. Rue wakes up halfway through his watch and promptly falls back asleep, so Thresh doesn't even wake her up for her watch. He figures that he can't sleep anyway.

When Rue wakes up again in the morning light and realizes guiltily that Thresh has been up all night, she volunteers to go out and find food. Thresh is reluctant at first, volunteering to go with her until he quickly realizes that he has absolutely no idea what he is doing in the woods and that he's awfully conspicuous on the ground. So Rue sends him back into the field, promising to be back within the hour.

Within fifteen minutes of her leaving, Thresh hears clomping of boots on the ground. He ducks behind an outcropping of rock, flattening himself so no one can see him from the terrain of the woods. The footsteps stop unexpectedly, and Thresh hears a girl curse. "Ouch, Marvel! Watch where you're going!"

"Maybe if you didn't stop so abruptly, Glimmer, we wouldn't have a problem," Thresh hears the District 1 boy remark acidly.

"Shut up, you two imbeciles," he hears a second girl hiss.

"Are you _sure _she went this way?" a second male voice asks, deep with menacing power, and Thresh shivers at Cato's voice.

"Positive." And Thresh recognizes Peeta Mellark's voice.

Glimmer laughs an airy laugh. "Girl on fire, we're coming for you!"

"And then we can finish off that little monkey in the trees," Cato hisses. "Bothersome little thing. I saw her a few moments ago."

"She was with that big tribute we saw," Marvel says with some trepidation. "He's dangerous."

A snort from Clove. "Let's see how dangerous he is when I throw a knife at his heart." Thresh digs his nails into the ground to stop himself from throwing himself at them. Part of him wants to warn Rue, to whistle warningly to her, but the part of him with common sense forces him to remain low to the ground.

"Well, we're wasting daylight," Peeta snaps. "Are we going, or are we going?"

"Alright, Lover Boy, we're going," Cato says coldly. "Let's go. We have tributes to kill."

When the sound of their boots fade away, Thresh risks a glimpse over his hiding place. No one is there, but he still ducks behind his rock and whistles his melody, hoping that another melody will come floating back to him to tell him that Rue is safe and sound. But no melody comes back to him, not even when he sits for hours and hours patiently waiting for Rue.

He panics until he notices that her face is not among the dead tributes listed, but the girl from District 1- Glimmer- is dead. He takes comfort in the fact that Rue is surviving out there by herself, and hopes desperately that whatever happens, she doesn't die alone. He wishes he was there to protect her.

..

He flinches every time a cannon goes off. The fifth time he hears it, he feels in his sinking stomach that it's not good news. Rue can't have stayed alive this long alone, but he somehow suspects that she's found an ally to hold onto until she manages to find him. Rue is shrewd that way, and he's grateful that somehow she's able to stay this long.

He mostly wonders how long he'll be able to keep up the pretense that she's going to win and go back home unscathed. "Home," he says quietly into the open air, hoping that the cameras pick it up. This is _ridiculous_, pitting kids against each other to kill and become savages. He refuses to directly kill an innocent soul, so he chooses not to wander out of his field, though he knows that sooner or later someone will come looking for him.

He's at the river getting water when the anthem begins to play. Glancing up, he notices that Caesar Flickerman is droning on about something about an alliance being broken. About time, too, Thresh thinks as he caps his canteen. The Careers are always weaker when they're broken apart.

The dead tributes flash up on screen. District 1, Marvel. Dead. District 3, dead. And then Thresh's stomach clenches painfully.

District 11. Rue. _Dead_.

He knows that it was inevitable. It doesn't stop the hurt.


	3. Chapter 3

When the Gamemakers announce the change in rules, it doesn't make Thresh any happier. His partner is dead. He still has to go through every tribute to survive. And what is the point of surviving without his friend?

He wanders out of his field for minutes, then hours at a time, hoping that he'll run across someone. Unfortunately for him, he never actually runs into anyone, and he can't help but wonder if he's just supremely unlucky, or they're all just saving him for last.

It's an uneventful few days until the Gamemakers announce the Feast, mentioning that each pack had something they all needed. Thresh can't think of anything that he desperately needs, save food, but he shrugs. Might as well go, he thinks in a detached manner, there's nothing left to do anyway.

It is about nine in the morning when he arrives at the fringe of the Cornucopia, cautiously peering around to see if anyone is around. Apparently, he's just missed the party, because there are three packs still left on the table, with a space in between. He bets that the tribute from 5 has come and gone with their pack, but there are three still left open for the taking. Two girls are wrestling in the field beyond the table, knives glinting in the sunlight as they fight to survive- Thresh squints- it looks like it's the girl on fire and that Clove girl from 2.

He sprints towards the packs, fully intending to take advantage of their distraction, grab his pack and go- until he hears Clove snarl into Katniss's face, "We're going to kill you. Just like we did with your pathetic little ally... what was her name? The one who hopped around in the trees? Rue?"

Thresh can't comprehend what she's saying for a moment as he halts at the table. Rue. Rue, killed. He has an awful, _awful _image of Rue lying on the ground, eyes lifeless as they stare at the sky with knives sticking out of her chest, legs and arms; he can almost hear Clove's mocking laughter as she yanks the knives out. And suddenly, Thresh is filled with an anger that he hasn't felt in days.

He's on Clove in a moment, picking her up like a rag doll and bellowing in her face words that he can't even comprehend. She's screaming, screaming that she didn't kill Rue, _no, no_, it wasn't her, but her eyes reflect fear that only accompanies guilt. Thresh's fury builds as he begins to see red; he slams her on the ground and grabs the nearest thing he can find. Clove was going to do to Katniss what she had done to Rue, and the only thing in Thresh's mind is: _Stop her. She killed Rue, and she won't kill again_.

Clove begins to scream even louder for Cato, and Thresh's anger only builds as he imagines Rue screaming the same way before she died. He brings down the rock with such force, he feels a spasm of pain shoot up his wrist, but Clove goes limp under him. It's over. He's done. He whirls on the girl on fire, but she isn't even running. She's just sitting there. And then something clicks. Clove had said that District 12 was Rue's ally.

"What'd she mean? About Rue being your ally?" He sounds desperate to his own ears, but District 12 looks even more scared.

"I-I- we teamed up. Blew up the supplies. I tried to save her, I did. But he got there first. District One," she says. And Thresh glares at Clove, who still twitches slightly.

"And you killed him?" he demands.

"Yes. I killed him. And buried her in flowers," District 12 says. "And I sang her to sleep." She looks away, tears building in her eyes. Thresh begins to feel his anger towards her subside. She was present when Rue died, but she had tried to make her passing as smooth as possible. As harmless as possible. Just like what he would have done himself.

"To sleep?" he says gruffly.

"To death," she clarifies. "I sang until she died. Your district… they sent me bread." She swipes a hand across her face. "Do it fast, okay Thresh?"

Thresh considers her. District 11 sent her bread. He knows enough about his district to know that bread is hard to come by, even though they produce the food. It must have cost his district a fortune, and if this girl isn't lying, it means that they considered her gestures worthy of a gift from a different district. It means that she is to be trusted, even if she might end up killing him. His eyes dart to the orange backpack by her side, marked with a 12. She looks healthy enough, so he's willing to bet that's for her partner, Peeta Mellark. He's not sure why Peeta is back on her side, but at this point he really doesn't care.

So he lowers the rock that he's holding. "Just this one time," Thresh says, his eyes tearing up when he remembers the little girl he treated as a sister, "I let you go." He remembers Rue's smile. "For the little girl." He remembers how she laughed in the orchards, how she came by often to say hello to his grandmother and his surly brother. He remembers the little girl she once was. He glares at District 12. "You and me, we're even then. No more owed. You understand?"

She nods, and Thresh feels his heart clench. This is not how the Games pan out on a normal year, he knows. Tributes do not let one another go. Tributes do not thank one another.

This is not a normal year.

He hears Cato bellow Clove's name, and knows that the moment between him and 12 is over. "You better run now, Fire Girl," he says dryly. She immediately scrambles to her feet and sprints off as Thresh grabs both his and 2's backpacks before disappearing over the horizon. He stops and looks back for a moment to see Cato bent over Clove, begging her to stay with him.

Good. Thresh's mouth curves downwards when he bitterly reflects on how Rue died without someone who loved her by her side. He's failed Rue. He wishes he could see her again, tell her how sorry he is.

He reaches his hiding place, opens up his pack. There's some food, like he expects, but on top there's an item that jars him and makes him hate this game even more.

On top is the necklace he gave Rue.

..

Cato finds him a few days later, sitting in a pool of water out in the storm.

"I was wondering when you'd find me," Thresh says dryly- he laughs at his ironic use of the word dry since it's the middle of the storm and it's pouring buckets. "Nice night out, isn't it?"

"Shut up," Cato snarls.

Thresh shrugs. "I like being quiet."

"Shut _up_," Cato repeats.

"Why are you here, Cato? To kill me?" Thresh flexes his muscles.

The District 2 tribute spins his spear in his hand. "What do you think, 11?"

"Thresh," Thresh says shortly. "My name is Thresh."

"I don't _care_!"

"You should," Thresh says simply. "It helps to know the names of the people you kill. Makes them more human." He unfolds his arms. "Like I know the name of your partner that I killed. Clove, right?"

"You killed Clove," Cato snapped.

"And your friend killed my partner. We're even."

Cato takes a step forward and Thresh doesn't move. "You killed _Clove_!"

"Yes," Thresh says grimly. "I did." He is reminded of the day Rue was lying in his arms, not screaming even though the pain was all so real to her; even then she was strong, even then she was a warrior. He channels this strength now, knowing that this can only end one way. "What's the matter, 2?" he taunts. "Lose your nerve?"

The Career loses it then, running at him with the spear. Thresh merely sidesteps him, but Cato is fast and whirls around, hurling the spear at him with such force that Thresh slips in the mud. Cato is on him in a moment, his hands around Thresh's throat as he begins to try and squeeze the life out of the giant's throat, but Thresh is bigger as he snaps Cato off him and pins him in a headlock.

What Thresh doesn't anticipate is the knife that Cato pulls out of his jacket pocket- a remnant of Clove's, no doubt. He howls in anger as the knife is plunged into his arm and yanked out again, tearing skin and sending pain shooting up Thresh's arm. As he's distracted by the pain, Cato places a well-aimed blow on Thresh's neck, knocking him out instantly.

Thresh doesn't feel the pain, but he hears the cannon boom.

It's over.

...

He wakes to the sound of mockingjays singing around him. _Was it all just a dream_? He shuts his eyes and listens to the sound of the mockingjays before he identifies the song. It's Rue's little four note melody, whistled at the end of a long work day. It _feels _like he's been in a long work day, because he's aching all over.

When he opens his eyes, he notices that he's in a meadow, green with the promise of spring and dotted with tiny wildflowers that pepper the earth. Thresh sits up, feeling his back ache with pain, and then notices a tiny girl skipping about twelve feet away, whistling and humming. He squints- _no, it can't be_- "Rue?" he yells, hope laced in his voice.

She turns around and a huge grin blossoms across her face. "Thresh!" She sprints towards him before launching herself into his arms. Thresh can't help but let out a guffaw of surprise, staggering backwards as Rue's weight crashes into him. "Thresh, you took so long getting here!"

"Where's here?" Thresh wants to know.

"I don't know," she says simply, "but it's _lovely_!" She pulls at his hand. "I think this is where all the tributes go after they die. It's like heaven. Everything is wonderful, and oh, Thresh, you'll never guess who I met!"

"Millie Wheatstone?" Thresh guesses, and Rue's face pouts in disappointment for a moment.

"I wanted to tell you, but I guess you're too smart. Come on!" And Rue is pulling at his hand, dragging him along. As Thresh stumbles after her, he notices familiar faces around him- there's the District 7 girl and the District 6 boy playing a game of chess; the District 7 boy he knocked out waves cheerily at him from where he is sketching the portrait of the District 4 girl; the District 3 pair is talking at rapid speed about a piece of technology that they hold in their hands. "So _everyone's _here?" he asks Rue.

"Yes, everyone! Even the Careers." Rue is talking a mile a minute as she runs. "They're actually not that bad, you know. At least, not the District 1 boy. The girls I keep away from."

"The District 1 boy was the one that killed you," Thresh tries to understand.

"Yes, but he was trained to kill," Rue explains. "It's not really his fault, see? He apologized and everything, plus he says he panicked when he heard Katniss coming." She sees Thresh's face narrow in suspicion and she squeezes his hand. "I know it sounds crazy, but he's actually really nice when you get him alone!"

They stop in front of a cream-colored door, and Rue pushes it open. "Millie?" She pokes her head in, but nobody is there. "Oh… she was in here before…"

Thresh stops her before she flits off again in her excitement. "Rue… I need to talk to you." He can feel the ache in his heart, the ache that came when she was excitedly gushing about the District 1 boy. The ache that whispers, _You let her down. _

She pauses in her tracks. "What is it, Thresh?"

He struggles with the words. "About what happened in the arena…"

She waits.

"…I'm sorry." He bends down so he's at eye level with her. "I should have gone after you. Warned you. Stuck with you, like we promised. Instead, I let you down. You were killed because I wasn't there."

She weighs his words carefully. "No…" she says slowly. "You didn't let me down."

"But I didn't protect you," Thresh tries to protest.

Rue shakes her head. "We were all going to die. Everyone dies, even if you are a victor." Her brown eyes glow with the light of new life. "And if you had been with me, I wouldn't have met Katniss."

"Katniss?"

"The girl on fire," Rue explains, another smile blossoming on her face. "And Thresh, you _were_ there with me when I died."

He raises an eyebrow.

Rue reaches in and pulls out a familiar necklace. Thresh's eyes widen when he sees the woven necklace, and he blurts, "But they gave that to me after the Feast!"

She considers this, before shrugging it off. "Strange," she offers. She squeezes Thresh's giant hand. "It helped me remember all the times we spent together. How you taught me to be strong through the pain." She pauses. "But I don't blame you for what happened. Bad things happen in that arena. Just like life." Rue grins. "Did Katniss win, though?"

Thresh shrugged. "When I died, Cato and the District 12 pair were still alive."

"I hope she wins," Rue says brightly. "I do miss her, though."

Thresh smiles at her innocence and trusting nature. "So… I'm forgiven?"

"There was nothing to forgive you _for_," Rue says simply. She gives him a hug, both small arms encircling his neck. "You were my friend when no one else wanted to be, and I'm glad that I was in the Games with you for that short amount of time. I know that nobody would have tried to look out for me or protect me as much as you wanted to." She says it so simply, like it's a fact and not an opinion.

He reaches out and ruffles her hair. "Anything for you, Rue."

She grins and turns to run off again, but then she turns back around and attacks him in another hug. "I missed you," she says shyly. "It was lonely. Sometimes I feel like everyone has their own friends here, and it's so easy to be ignored."

Thresh feels a sense of déjà vu as he answers, "I won't ignore you."

She beams up at him. "Really?"

And Thresh- ever solid, sturdy, strong Thresh, replies with all the conviction in his heart: "Really."

* * *

><p>Edit: I accidentally said that Cato was from District 1 instead of District 2. I've made the necessary edits, so thank you <strong>aka shellybean<strong> and **empressdreamer** for keeping me honest! (That's what happens when I write stories at midnight, haha.)

It is my hope that you enjoyed reading this story as much as I enjoyed writing it. I just couldn't stop writing- hence the three chapters in a span of two hours. (So much for an early night's rest, eh?) Reviews, as always, are greatly appreciated! Thank you for taking the time to read this. :)


End file.
